BANFF – Banff is getting an additional ambulance to improve response times in the community.
Margie Smith, site administrator for Banff Mineral Springs Hospital, said Alberta Health Services has asked Mineral Springs Hospital to adjust its delivery model for EMS from one to two full-time ambulances, which could be in place as early as Dec. 1.
She said this will eliminate the need for on-call services during the night and will ensure more consistent coverage and faster response times.
“Additionally, we will maintain a peak ambulance during the winter and long weekends to support the increased demand,” she said.
“These adjustments are intended to enhance our services’ reliability and better meet the community needs. I can’t tell you how excited we were when we got that request.”
Covenant Health’s Mineral Springs Hospital holds the contract for EMS delivery in Banff.
So far for 2023-24, Banff EMS has responded to 1,404 emergencies and has done 754 transfers to other hospitals. That compares to 1,534 emergencies for 2022-23 and 770 facility transfers.
“For the 2023-24 data, which comes to the end of December here, we’re tracking above any years past,” Smith said.
Other past challenges faced by the hospital are also improving, including physician recruitment.
Two international graduates have been hired and are both working in the hospital and at each of the clinics, and Smith said physician recruitment has been “highly successful.”
“We are in a great place with our staffing, particularly our clinics, which are now fully staffed with physicians and physician assistants and nurse practitioners who are now supporting St. Martha’s Place and our acute care departments,” she said.
“This ensures that we provide the best care possible to our community and our tourist population.”
The Banff Centre is continuing to provide free accommodation when available for locums – a medical professional who temporarily substitutes for a practice’s regular doctor. That has amounted to 248 nights since 2022.
“This has helped us secure locum coverage when needed,” Smith said.
“This support had made a tremendous difference in ensuring our continuity of care during periods of high demand or when full-time staff aren’t available.”
Plans for a community wellness centre on the second floor of Banff’s public health unit on Lynx Street remain on track.
The facility would include family physicians and other healthcare professionals, such as social workers, detox navigators, nurse practitioners and physician assistants to share the busy workload.
“The proposed wellness centre building is still very much on our radar and we’re currently exploring various funding options to bring this important project to life,” Smith said.
“In addition to having a funder from the community express interest in supporting the initiative, we are also reaching out to the government of Alberta and other potential sources to partner with us. The wellness centre is Covenant’s No. 1 priority that they’ve sent forward to the government of Alberta.”
Initial costs have been completed and a designer has helped with layout and design of the facility next to the hospital.
“It’s a very welcoming space designed around mental health to make it feel really safe when you walk in,” Smith said.
Other projects on the books at the hospital include the creation of a palliative care room, with work expected to start this week.
“The goal is to provide a more home-like environment, providing comfort and dignity to our patients and their families,” Smith said. “This one is a huge passion project for me.”
Once that palliative care project is completed, Smith said plans move to improvements to the emergency department triage area.
“This will allow for confidential and respectful spaces for initial conversations between patients and nursing staffing,” Smith said.
“Right now, you have to tell your life story in front of the whole department, so this is another really important project. It’s been a long time getting off the ground but I’m really happy it’s moving forward.”
Smith said daily visits to the emergency department average between 30 and 40, noting trauma cases make up the vast majority of patients, which is not surprising given the active lifestyles of many visitors and residents.
She said out-of-country and out-of-province account for about seven per cent of visits to the emergency department in the quieter months like October, but average 32 per cent a day in busier months such as March.
“This highlights our tourism significant impact on our emergency department, in particular during peak seasons, and this is important to ensure that we are well prepared to handle the increased demand,” she said.
Meanwhile, the hospital’s wish list includes a CT scan.
The emergency department physicians are embarking on a study of hospital transfers for CT imaging in rural Alberta. It includes evaluating the impact of not having a CT scanner at Mineral Springs Hospital, assessing implications on patient care and a cost analysis of EMS transfers.
Currently, Smith said patients requiring a CT scan must be transferred to hospitals in Canmore or Calgary, which can delay diagnosis and treatment.
“Having a CT on site would considerably improve patient care and efficiency,” she said.
The hospital is also in the early phases of planning to increase long-term care beds by converting all to private rooms and showers, hopefully by April 1, 2027.
Smith said this was a recommendation that came out of the continuing care facility review during COVID-19.
“We definitely want to keep 25 residents and not go down to 12,” she said. “There’s a lot of planning around that.”
Lastly, the hospital is also looking to create a secure, accessible outdoor space for residents of St. Martha’s Place.
“Currently, all residents must be supervised when outside due to safety concerns,” she said.
“Our wish is to give them the freedom to enjoy the outdoors independently in a secure environment.”
Mayor Corrie DiManno said council was excited to hear of some of the changes and plans at Mineral Springs Hospital.
“We cannot be more lucky to have the hospital that we have,” she said.
